President Donald Trump has been banned from streaming platform Twitch over allegations that his account had presented 'hateful conduct,' according to the company. The move is the latest example of a social media company taking steps to address problematic content shared on official presidential accounts, following content notices on Twitter that prompted ire from the POTUS.
According to Microsoft's FAQ on the matter, Xbox One users that have been using Mixer for live streaming can continue to stream "using the Twitch app." This is in stark contrast with the rest of the releases from Microsoft today on the sunsetting of Mixer and their push for Facebook Gaming. It would appear that Facebook Gaming is not immediately prepared to take on Mixer gamers that have been playing on Xbox One - for that, Microsoft doesn't mention Facebook at all.
Earlier this month, Geoff Keighley announced a multi-month digital games festival of sorts called Summer Game Fest. Seemingly created to take the place of in-person shows that can't be held because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Summer Game Fest promises announcements and digital events from May to August. Today Twitch confirmed that it's getting in on the action with Summer Game Fest livestreams, which will be held on a new channel called twitchgaming.
Following the launch of Amazon Game Studios' team-based shooter Crucible earlier in the week, the company is back with the announcement of another game, this one seemingly destined for Twitch. Amazon has revealed Pac-Man Live Studio, a new game that's being made for Pac-Man's 40th anniversary. Pac-Man Live Studio will offer up three different modes, including one that will have players working together to complete mazes.
With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping a lot of us inside at the moment, there are a bunch of people who are turning to streaming for entertainment. One website that's probably seen a big uptick in traffic is Twitch, which got its start as a video game streaming website but has since branched out to many different categories. Last month, Amazon rolled out a new feature called Watch Parties to all Twitch partners in the US in direct response to the stay-at-home orders issued by governments across the country, and today, it's getting a pretty major expansion.
Following its initial announcement about the plan, Twitch has unveiled its new design for channel pages, introducing a customizable home where streamers can 'show the world who they are.' The company is rolling out the new design as of today, May 6, though Twitch says it has already been available to streamers for around a month so they could prepare ahead of the public launch.
Games Done Quick is no stranger to hosting video game speedrunning marathons for charity, and the COVID-19 pandemic is the perfect time for such an event. Games Done Quick has kicked off a weekend marathon called Corona Relief Done Quick, during which speedrunners from around the world will be showcasing their skills - remotely, of course - and raising money Direct Relief.
Valorant could very well be the biggest game of the moment, thanks in part to how exclusive its closed beta has been so far. Valorant is the latest game from League of Legends developer Riot Games, and though it isn't scheduled to launch until sometime this summer, Riot is currently holding a closed beta for the game. Getting into the closed beta, however, has thus far been a matter of luck.
Late last year, streaming platform Twitch announced a new upcoming feature called Watch Parties that enables groups of people to watch the same show together, though they're located in different places from each other. The feature was first tested with a small number of creators who could use Watch Parties to stream select Prime Video content with their communities.
The past few weeks have seen the Internet explode in the number of users hopping not just to stream videos but especially to collaborate and communicate with others. That's true not just for work but also for streaming games, tutorials, and other activities on platforms like Twitch. The rapid surge in the number of viewers also means that there will be more people to keep an eye on and, if necessary, keep them in line. It's not easy being a Twitch moderator but the platform's new Mod View will try to at least put some order in that chaos.
SoundCloud has teamed up with Twitch to help support creators who can no longer play their live shows in real-life destinations. With this new partnership, SoundCloud says that its Pro, Premier, and Repost by SoundCloud creators will have the option of performing their live works on Twitch live streams, enabling them to earn money with fast-tracked Affiliate status.
Last year, the streaming wars got into full swing when Mixer signed Tyler "Ninja" Blevins to an exclusivity deal, thereby poaching one of Twitch's top streamers. From there, we saw a series of signings that took some high profile streamers away from Twitch and put them exclusively on not only Mixer, but also YouTube and Facebook Gaming.